Kareo is a web-based medical billing and practice management solution used by medical practitioners and physicians across the United States. The system suits small practices and billing companies. With Kareo, practices can schedule...
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Kareo is a web-based medical billing and practice management solution used by medical practitioners and physicians across the United States. The system suits small practices and billing companies. With Kareo, practices can schedule...
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Kareo is a Web-based EHR, medical billing, and practice management used by thousands of physicians across the United States. This system suits small practices and billing companies. With Kareo, practices can schedule patients, confirm...
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Kareo is a Web-based EHR, medical billing, and practice management used by thousands of physicians across the United States. This system suits small practices and billing companies. With Kareo, practices can schedule patients, confirm...
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In 1985, a chiropractor and software developer teamed up to create ECLIPSE, an ONC certified Complete EHR now used by thousands of providers nationwide. Designed for single practitioners, ECLIPSE is routinely used by multi-disciplinary...
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In 1985, a chiropractor and software developer teamed up to create ECLIPSE, an ONC certified Complete EHR now used by thousands of providers nationwide. Designed for single practitioners, ECLIPSE is routinely used by multi-disciplinary...
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Valant’s EHR for behavioral health offers tools for providers to streamline documentation, increase efficiency, and enhance the productivity of their practice or agency.
The fully integrated suite includes secure patient records,...
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Valant’s EHR for behavioral health offers tools for providers to streamline documentation, increase efficiency, and enhance the productivity of their practice or agency.
The fully integrated suite includes secure patient records,...
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Aprima EHR is designed to take advantage of mobile hardware including the Aprima Mobile smartphone app for tablets, touchscreens and smartphone devices. Aprima is suitable for physicians in primary care and more than 70 specialties...
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Aprima EHR is designed to take advantage of mobile hardware including the Aprima Mobile smartphone app for tablets, touchscreens and smartphone devices. Aprima is suitable for physicians in primary care and more than 70 specialties...
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CareCloud is a modern, cloud-based system with the ease-of-use and low cost of ownership buyers have come to expect from cloud solutions. The system offers comprehensive functionality for appointment scheduling, medical billing, reporting...
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CareCloud is a modern, cloud-based system with the ease-of-use and low cost of ownership buyers have come to expect from cloud solutions. The system offers comprehensive functionality for appointment scheduling, medical billing, reporting...
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Greenway Health’s ambulatory platform provides healthcare organizations with clinical, financial, and administrative tools and services. Intergy, part of the Greenway Health suite, is available as both a web-based and on-premise...
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Greenway Health’s ambulatory platform provides healthcare organizations with clinical, financial, and administrative tools and services. Intergy, part of the Greenway Health suite, is available as both a web-based and on-premise...
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ChiroTouch is an electronic health records (EHR) and practice management system designed specifically for small to midsize chiropractic practices. It combines electronic health records, billing, patient scheduling, outcomes assessments...
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ChiroTouch is an electronic health records (EHR) and practice management system designed specifically for small to midsize chiropractic practices. It combines electronic health records, billing, patient scheduling, outcomes assessments...
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MDConnection is a web-based solution for medical practice management. The system serves the needs of small practices consisting of just one physician or a small group of physicians. The core functions include scheduling, medical billing,...
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MDConnection is a web-based solution for medical practice management. The system serves the needs of small practices consisting of just one physician or a small group of physicians. The core functions include scheduling, medical billing,...
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WebPT is a cloud-based, multi-product platform for outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy clinics. At its core, WebPT is an electronic medical records (EMR) system that enables therapists to produce and store patient...
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WebPT is a cloud-based, multi-product platform for outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy clinics. At its core, WebPT is an electronic medical records (EMR) system that enables therapists to produce and store patient...
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RxNT offers a suite of cloud-based solutions including RxNT|EHR, RxNT|eRx, and RxNT|PM. These three solutions are available for purchase in standalone form or within an integrated suite and are accessible on any connected mobile device...
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RxNT offers a suite of cloud-based solutions including RxNT|EHR, RxNT|eRx, and RxNT|PM. These three solutions are available for purchase in standalone form or within an integrated suite and are accessible on any connected mobile device...
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TotalMD is a practice management solution suitable for small and midsize practices. TotalMD provides an integrated suite of features that includes e-claim services, patient scheduling, financial reporting, EMR integration and more.
The...
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TotalMD is a practice management solution suitable for small and midsize practices. TotalMD provides an integrated suite of features that includes e-claim services, patient scheduling, financial reporting, EMR integration and more.
The...
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RevolutionEHR is a cloud-based electronic health record (EHR) solution built specifically for optometry practices. RevolutionEHR includes a complete EHR, medical billing, patient scheduling, medical accounting and a picture archiving...
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RevolutionEHR is a cloud-based electronic health record (EHR) solution built specifically for optometry practices. RevolutionEHR includes a complete EHR, medical billing, patient scheduling, medical accounting and a picture archiving...
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Remedly is a cloud-based medical solution designed for plastic and cosmetic surgeons and medical spas. It is an integrated solution that encompasses functionalities such as practice management, electronic health records, patient portal,...
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Remedly is a cloud-based medical solution designed for plastic and cosmetic surgeons and medical spas. It is an integrated solution that encompasses functionalities such as practice management, electronic health records, patient portal,...
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Buyer's Guide

From a patient's perspective, missing a doctor's appointment is at most an annoying inconvenience. After all, they can always reschedule. From a doctor's perspective, though, it's like watching money go down the drain.

One study found that the average hospital in the U.S. experiences 62 no-shows per day, adding up to a whopping $3 million in lost revenue annually. For smaller practices, the numbers are equally grim—the average no-show rate for primary care and specialty medical appointments is 20 percent annually.

If your patients consistently fail to show up to scheduled appointments, costing your practice valuable time and money, there's a solution that can keep your staff from having to make calls all day long: appointment reminder software.

In this Buyer's Guide, we'll go over everything you need to know about appointment reminder software to aid you in your research and help you make a more informed purchase decision.

What Is Appointment Reminder Software?

Appointment reminder software is designed to help medical practices by alleviating the burden of manually reminding patients about upcoming appointments. It accomplishes this with features such as scheduling integration, automated notifications and patient self-service.

Once it's set up, appointment reminder software automatically sends reminders to your patients via phone call, text or email at predetermined times before their appointment—increasing the likelihood that they show up on time.

Benefits of Appointment Reminder Software

Being able to automate patient reminders with software allows your staff to redirect their time toward more impactful tasks that will improve your practice. That's a major benefit of appointment reminder software, but it's not the only one. Here are a few more:

Patients are more likely to receive reminders. People may be too busy during the day to respond to a phone call, but they will more easily see an appointment reminder via email or text. Software makes it easier to take this omnichannel approach to reminders, increasing the odds that patients receive them.

Improved compliance. Texting or emailing reminders through ad hoc methods increases the likelihood that your practice will unintentionally violate HIPAA standards. Any reputable appointment reminder system, in contrast, is guaranteed to be HIPAA-compliant.

Fewer no-shows. A study published by the National Institute of Health found that there is consistent evidence that appointment reminder systems improve appointment attendance "across a range of health care settings and patient population subgroups."

Greater scheduling capacity and flexibility. If a patient doesn't show up to an appointment, that's a dead spot in your day you can't easily fill. Automated reminders can give your patients a chance to reschedule well in advance to ensure you're seeing as many patients as possible.

Higher patient satisfaction rates. Sixty-four percent of the time when a doctor's running behind schedule, it's because patients are running late too. Appointment reminders can increase the likelihood that patients show up on time, allowing your doctors to see all patients more promptly and reducing frustration for your staff and your patients.

How Is Appointment Reminder Software Priced?

Appointment reminder software pricing can vary considerably based on a variety of factors, the most significant of which is whether the software is sold with a perpetual or subscription license.

With a perpetual license, you pay a lump sum upfront—typically starting at a couple thousand dollars—to own the software indefinitely. This fee can depend on your practice size or even which channels you'll be using for patient reminders. Voicent, for example, has one cost for phone-only appointment reminders and another for phone, email and text.

With a subscription license, on the other hand, you pay a smaller monthly or annual fee for as long as you want to use the software. This is usually a flat fee and is often tied to usage or based on how many licensed health care providers will be using the system. Drchrono, for example, charges between $199 and $499 per provider per month.

Outside of the license cost, buyers may see significantly different pricing options for stand-alone appointment reminder software compared to appointment reminder functionality that's wrapped up in larger practice management or EMR systems. There may be other fees as well for things such as implementation, training, support and EMR integration.

Be sure to ask vendors about all of these options to get a clear picture of the total cost.

Other Appointment Reminder Software Considerations

Just as important as deciding which appointment reminder software system to purchase is how you implement that system in your practice. Here are some final things to keep in mind when researching, purchasing and setting up appointment reminder software:

Does your system of choice work with existing software? If you're purchasing a stand-alone appointment reminder system, it's important that it integrates seamlessly with any existing scheduling platforms or your EMR.

How often are you sending out reminders? Send reminders once and they'll have little effect. Send them too often and patients will get annoyed. Survey your patients on the cadence that they'd prefer, then talk to vendors to ensure they offer that level of customization.

Is there room for error with placeholders? When creating reminder messages, appointment reminder systems often use placeholder tags (e.g., ). When a tag is in place, the software will automatically pull the relevant information from your scheduling system to customize the message. If you have to type the tag manually each time, not only is it tedious, but it can also lead to errors that break the tag. Being able to drag-and-drop tags is preferable.

How it Works

We match organizations with software that meets their needs.

Our service is simple and 100% free to customers like you because software vendors pay us when we connect them with quality leads. You save time and get great advice. Vendors get great referrals. It's a win for everyone!